Articulated shield for a vehicle friction brake

Abstract

A shield assembly is employed for a friction brake used to decelerate a road wheel of a vehicle. The vehicle has a body with a first body end configured to face an incident ambient airflow, a second body end opposite of the first body end, and an underbody section spanning a distance between the first and second ends. The shield assembly includes a first shield component arranged proximate the brake and rotationally fixed relative to the vehicle body. The shield assembly also includes a second shield component operatively connected to the first shield component for shifting relative thereto. The shield assembly additionally includes an actuator employing a shape memory alloy element to shift the second shield component relative to the first shield component in response to a temperature of the brake to thereby direct at least a portion of the airflow to the brake and control temperature thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An articulated shield assembly for a friction brake configured to decelerate a road wheel of a vehicle having a vehicle body with a first vehicle body end configured to face an incident ambient airflow, a second vehicle body end opposite of the first vehicle body end, and a vehicle underbody section configured to span a distance between the first and second vehicle body ends, the shield assembly comprising:
 a first shield component arranged proximate the friction brake and rotationally fixed relative to the vehicle body; 
 a second shield component operatively connected to the first shield component and configured to shift relative to the first shield component; and 
 an actuator employing a shape memory alloy (SMA) element to shift the second shield component relative to the first shield component in response to a temperature of the friction brake to thereby direct at least a portion of the incident ambient airflow to the friction brake and control temperature thereof; 
 wherein the second shield component is arranged proximate and parallel to the first shield component, and the second shield component is configured to selectively space apart from the first shield component to thereby generate a path for the at least a portion of the incident ambient airflow to the friction brake. 
 
     
     
       2. The shield assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the actuator additionally includes a spring configured to counter a force generated by the SMA element and retract the second shield component below a preset temperature of the friction brake. 
     
     
       3. The shield assembly according to  claim 2 , wherein each of the SMA element and the spring is arranged concentrically around a guide pin. 
     
     
       4. The shield assembly according to  claim 1 , further comprising a guide pin configured to maintain rotational position of the second shield component relative to the first shield component. 
     
     
       5. A vehicle comprising:
 a vehicle body including a first vehicle body end configured to face an incident ambient airflow, a second vehicle body end opposite of the first vehicle body end, and a vehicle underbody section configured to span a distance between the first and second vehicle body ends; 
 a road wheel operatively connected to the vehicle body; 
 a friction brake configured to retard rotation of the road wheel and thereby decelerate the vehicle; and 
 an articulated shield assembly comprising:
 a first shield component arranged proximate the friction brake and rotationally fixed relative to the vehicle body; 
 a second shield component operatively connected to the first shield component and configured to shift relative to the first shield component; and 
 an actuator employing a shape memory alloy (SMA) element to shift the second shield component relative to the first shield component in response to a temperature of the friction brake to thereby direct at least a portion of the incident ambient airflow to the friction brake and control temperature thereof; 
 wherein the second shield component is arranged proximate and parallel to the first shield component, and the second shield component is configured to selectively space apart from the first shield component to thereby generate a path for the at least a portion of the incident ambient airflow to the friction brake. 
 
 
     
     
       6. The vehicle according to  claim 5 , wherein the actuator additionally includes a spring configured to counter a force generated by the SMA element and retract the second shield component below a preset temperature of the friction brake. 
     
     
       7. The vehicle according to  claim 6 , wherein each of the SMA element and the spring is arranged concentrically around a guide pin. 
     
     
       8. The vehicle according to  claim 5 , wherein the shield assembly additionally includes a guide pin configured to maintain rotational position of the second shield component relative to the first shield component.